Connected and United
by fandomk
Summary: Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons- Merida and her family goes to Corona to meet the lost princess, Rapunzel. Hiccup runs from Berk to protect his people, from invaders wanting the boy who trained dragons. Jack, being the mischievous winter spirit he is, manages to get thrown in. When their enemies stand united against them, they must unite together too. But can they?
1. Chapter 1

Gothel was furious.

How dare her daughter, the one she raised, the one she cared for for seventeen and a half years, turn on her, and try to kill her? How dare she try and run away, taking away the one thing Gothel loved the most.

Her daughter's hair.

"Stupid brats," she muttered bitterly, hunched over a crystal ball. She was looking into the ball, which showed the kingdom of Corona, happily rejoicing about the recent engagement of the princess to a bandit named Flynn Rider. "If not for that cursed Flynn Rider…"

A thought popped in her head. Instead of stealing Rapunzel back, to prove a point, maybe she should kill her instead. Right in front of the Flynn's eyes. Then, she would kill him.

She laughed inwardly. That would be easy, almost too easy. The two lovebirds thought she was dead, due to the fact that she "fell" out of a window and quickly crumbled to dust. The idiots forgot she was a powerful witch, and didn't bother to _check_ if she was dead.

Yes, she turned old. But that was thanks to that horrible bandit, that thief that stole Rapunzel's precious hair. She was about to get her revenge—so she stepped away from the ball and start plotting.

Mor'du was furious.

All of his fury was directed toward a red-haired nuisance, the one that he remembered as a little girl. He wanted her dead, entrails littering his cave, and maybe her mother too. She was the one that truly stopped him. Banging his head against a rock—not very clever, but primal.

As a human turned into a bear, he had the ability to think like a human, but with bear needs and thoughts, within reason. Sometimes, when he felt all of his emotion gather, he could think like a man for months. However, once that emotion died down, he would become another bear—that which was stronger and better than all the other bears.

He just wished he could be man again. Rule over that cursed kingdom, that weak one who had only just been formed, the one that the redhead was going to rule one day. He felt his fury surge as he thought of that girl finding out he was still alive and hunting him down once more.

He survived that rock, just barely, because he was no ordinary bear. He was the legendary Mor'du, the one who bit off the leg of the greatest warrior in that kingdom, the one who would do anything to get great power. He was meant to lead.

So he would become human once more, defeat that petty girl and her family, and rule over their people like a proper rule should. With an iron fist.

He bared his teeth, in slight joy, at the thought of her family dying before her eyes, knowing she could not do anything to save them.

It was the perfect plan. Now to put it into effect.

Alvin the Treacherous was furious.

Curse the wit of Stoick's boy. If not for his clever mind and cunning wit, he would have had the boy! He could have finally paid back Stoick for what he did to him. Banishing him for only killing a man—though, Alvin thought, he did get a little out of hand. But he was drunk, for Odin's sake!

And thanks to that boy, his own people now doubted him, however slightly, in his strength! He roared in anger.

He would have to kill that boy, and his father. Yes, kill the boy in front of that idiotic Stoick's eyes. And he would kill that blonde girl too, the one who fought with him, even though she lost. He thought back to the battle on the island, the moment when the boy stood up to him to protect the unconscious blonde.

He chuckled darkly, a plan hatching in his mind. He would kill the girl in front of the boy, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, and his father too, would die in front of his eyes. However, he would keep the boy alive to be his slave. He grinned wide at the thought of his own slave. One who could train dragons!

It would take more thought than just attacking the island. He had tried that, and failed. It was going to be harder than he thought.

Pitch Black was furious.

Jack Frost, the cause of his second downfall, the reason he lost, was still having fun. Pitch wanted to destroy that fun, the fun that beat back fear.

He was most angry at the pest, more than all of the other four Guardians combined. Thanks to Jack Frost, he had to again bide his time, working up an army again. It took him _eleven hundred years _to restore his power, and he thought he ha the Guardians finished off—but all thanks to that icy smart alleck, he had lost.

He vowed to come back, and destroy the Guardians and Jack, for once and all. No matter what the cost, they would experience the pain he felt—the pain of not being believed in.

He had stretched his hand out to the boy, tried to make him feel welcome on his side, after the Guardians shunned him, but he just turned his back on him. No one turns their back on Pitch Black.

He had a plan, in fact, not to destroy Jack, but to turn him against the Guardians. Easier said than done.

He would defeat Jack by using his Nightmares, and capture him. He would use an arrow, similar to the one he hit the Sandman with.

He smiled at the thought of Jack Frost, at his side, hurting Tooth, North, Bunnymund, and North.

He could once again rule the world with fear. All he needed was some allies.

And he knew exactly what mortals to pick.


	2. Chapter 2

The lost princess of Corona was finally found.

The kingdom was rejoicing in Rapunzel's name, the lost princess, and in Flynn Rider's too, because he was the one to find her. Flynn had already proposed to Rapunzel (many times), and she had finally said yes. The kingdom was overjoyed at the thought of the princess marrying, well, a commoner.

Meanwhile, Rapunzel was thinking about something else, besides her engagement. She was thinking about her hair.

It sounds petty, but she once had long, beautiful, blonde hair that could do amazing things. She had grown up with it, never once cutting it, because if she did, it would turn brown and lose its power.

Flynn had cut it all off.

He did it to protect Rapunzel from her evil "mother", so that she could no longer use it for her own personal gain. He had never thought about how she would feel after.

Rapunzel leaned on the balcony railing, sighing. She wasn't used to her head feeling so light. Her head kept tipping forward sometimes, used to having to balance a ton of hair, but since that was gone, her head fell forward occasionally. It bothered her.

"What'cha thinking about?" she heard a voice say from inside, and turned to find the voice was attached to none other than her fiancé.

"Nothing," she grinned, throwing herself into his arms. "Just about silly little things."

"Can you believe it's been two years since we met?" he asked her, pulling himself out of the hug.

"Really? It doesn't seem like we've known each other for that short of time. I know so much about you, Eugene, including your real first name," she teased him.

"Hey, you should be nice to me. I saved your life."

"How did you do that? Please enlighten me."

"Well…"

"Because I'm pretty sure I was the one who saved our butts multiple times, like when Maximus beat you, frying pan versus sword, or finding the way out of that flooding cave, and we can't forget the many times I healed you."

"Whatever, Rapunzel. It seems you don't remember the time I saved you from all those guys in the Snuggly Duckling."

"Oh please! I saved you from dying that time, too."

"Well, you don't remember right, then. By the way, the reason I came up here was to tell you some news," he added nonchalantly.

"If you wanted to divert the conversation, you have succeeded. What news?"

"Well, your mother wanted me to tell you that you're—we're—having guests in a week. A family of royalty from Scotland, I think."

"Guests? And where's Scotland?"

"Oh it's—never mind. Anyways, they have a daughter your age, called Merida, and your dad wants you to meet their entire family."

"Why?"

"Something about them being old family friends. I don't know, you'll have to ask them. But there was another reason I came up here…"

"I remember, Eugene," Rapunzel smiled. "I'm all ready for our date."

He smiled widely at her. "Good, because I'm starving. I'm in the mood for some fine cuisine. Snuggly Duckling, maybe?"

"That's fine with me."

And she left with Eugene, all thoughts about her hair forgotten.


	3. Chapter 3

"Merida, it's time to pack," her mother, Queen Elinor, called to her from the other side of the field, where Merida was practicing archery. "We're leaving in two days, and you need to make a good impression on the princess."

Merida ignored her mother, loosing another arrow, shaking her fiery red hair from her face. "Mum, do I have to go? I mean, woohoo, this girl found her way home, but why do we have to go?"

"Because, they are our friends, and allies. We need to show that we still have strong relations with each other."

"Humph."

"C'mon, Merida, or I'll pack for you!" her mother threatened.

"No!" Merida slid her bow onto her back, running to her mother, to make sure she didn't pack uncomfortable clothes.

Queen Elinor laughed lightly, happy that her daughter was "willing" to pack for a trip. For once.

In the castle, a little later, Merida and her mother were choosing clothes. They had already gone through her half of her closet, but they couldn't agree on what would "impress the royal family".

"Look, Merida, this dress is beautiful!" Queen Elinor pulled out a light purple dress from the closet.

"Mum, that looks like it would squeeze my insides out."

"Oh, that has never happened before."

"With my luck, I'd be the first."

"We have to decide on something together!" her mother said desperately, looking at the pile of clothes that were rejected by them.

Merida groaned and fell back on her bed. "That's going to be impossible."

"What about this?"

Merida glanced over at what her mother was holding, a dark green dress with golden designs. It looked pretty comfortable, and it seemed like it would be enough to "impress" Corona.

"That looks… perfect," Merida stood up, walking over to her mother. She felt the cloth under her hands, soft and light. "I'm going to try it on I haven't seen this one before."

"Neither have I," Queen Elinor smiled. "But I like it too."

After shooing her mother out, Merida quickly put on the dress. She stretched and ran in place, and it seemed absolutely perfect.

"How does it look—" Queen Elinor burst in, hearing that her daughter was done changing. She gasped and tears cropped up in her eyes. "That looks stunning, even when your hair is out."

"Hey!" Merida frowned. "I like this dress to, but my hair looks perfectly fine, thank you very much."

"You are definitely wearing this dress," she ignored her daughter, smiling. "Change and put that on your dresser. You'll wear that as your first outfit."

"Ok, but what about—"

"We have plenty of dresses for you to wear. Plus, I'm sure the princess, Rapunzel, will let you borrow her dresses. I hear she likes the color purple."

Merida rolled her eyes. She, personally, hated the color purple. She thought it stood for royalty and snobbishness, as if the wearer was somehow better than everyone else.

"And also, Merida, be nice to the girl. She was locked up in a tower for eighteen years, and she may not know how to, well—"

"Interact with headstrong people like me? Gotcha. I'll cool down my attitude."

"That would be in the best interest."

Suddenly, a lady's scream could be heard from throughout the castle, followed by loud giggling.

"Oh, what did the boys do now," Queen Elinor marched off, anger clear on her face. "They need to learn how to behave. I swear, if they act like this when we're in Corona, I'll…"

Merida shut her door and looked in the mirror one last time, before taking off the dress. She thought it was beautiful, and if all her dresses were like this, then maybe she wouldn't complain about dressing up so often.

Ah. If only.

**A/N hey guys! Thanks to all of you for being so nice and awesome and just plain right cool! You guys are so awesome, and thanks for all the nice reviews. I will probably be updating a lot right now, because later on I have a ton of stuff to do. Like the school play, lacrosse, Student Council, and school—well, I'll try to update as soon as I can, as much as I can. Keep reading, my little foxes (that's going to be what I call my readers. Okay?)!**


	4. Chapter 4

Bye, Jack," the little boy waved to the older boy on the windowsill. "See you next time."

"I'll be back soon, Jamie, but…" Jack sighed, looking at the sky. The blue, green, and purple lights coming from the north reflected in his eyes. "The Guardians need me."

"Just be safe, okay?"

"When am I not," Jack grinned at Jamie. Jamie rolled his eyes. "Now, get to bed kiddo. Don't want you passing out on the swings like last week."

"That was only one time, and because you wanted to show me what Russia looked like!"

Jack laughed. "Sure, sure, whatever. I really have to go. Bye!"

"Bye!" Jamie called, racing to the window as the winter spirit jumped. The wind picked him up, carry him to the North Pole, where the lights were emitting.

"What's up?" Jack greeted the other Guardians as he flew in the open window. Sandy waved as Tooth smiled at Jack, greeting him. Bunny, of course, was near the fireplace, trying to warm his feet.

"North says he saw Pitch," Bunny pointed at North, who was rushing around, trying to get stuff ready for the upcoming Christmas holiday.

"Yes, yes… Pitch, I saw him, when I was on a practice run for Christmas… He was standing there, watching me. I chased after him, but he faded into the shadows," North recapped.

"Did he do anything else?" Jack asked, remembering what he did to take over (or at least try) the world, in fear. He was afraid that Pitch might've been aiming for North now, to take out the other Guardians. "How did he come back so quickly? I thought it took a while for him to recover."

"Yes, he did do something else, something that I don't quite understand still. He left behind three objects, which I thought were strange."

"What were they?" Bunny asked, stepping away from the fire. "Why would he leave three things?"

"I'll show them to you. Come, this way," North gestured, leading them all to his personal workshop. "Right here."

He picked up a box, fairly light, and dropped it on the table. "Here they are."

Jack reached in and pulled out-

"A lock of hair?" Jack raised an eyebrow at North.

"There's an arrow here," Tooth said, pulling out a long arrow.

"I've got a book, for some reason," Bunny added, holding up a worn-out book with a faded picture on it.

"That's what I don't get," North interjected, taking the book from Bunny's hands. He put it on the table. "I can't read this… It's like an old language."

Jack opened the book. "These pictures are pretty strange… They look like…"

"Dragons."

"Who the heck would have dragons? Or, for that multiple species of dragons?"

"There was this one book I've had to give a child. It was the story of a young Viking who conquered a dragon. The child probably thought it was fictional, but could it be that it was true?" North questioned thoughtfully, rubbing his beard.

"We can never know. But what about these things?"

"The arrow looks very old-styled. It looks like it could be from Scotland," Tooth placed the arrow on the table.

"The kingdom of Dunbroch, probably. I heard their princess is an ace shot," Bunny said, picking up the arrow.

"And a lock of brown hair… It's very long."

"Who would have that long of hair?" Jack asked, bewildered at the length. That one strand was taller than him.

"Maybe that one girl, Rapunzel, I think, who had the really long hair? From the stories?"

"Maybe, just maybe. We'll have to send someone who can find them quickly, the three people who own these items, and can make them believe in us, if they don't already. Someone who can relate to someone. Someone like…," North advised, at the end turning his head to look at Jack. Tooth, Bunny, and Sandy had also turned their heads to Jack, who was studying the book.

Jack, sensing their stares, looked up. He saw that they were looking at him, and groaned. "Why do I have to? Can't we just beat Pitch again, like we did last time?"

"That might not work again, Jack. I think—I think maybe he has allies this time. How else could he have gotten to power so fast, after two short years?"

"Fine," Jack sighed, placing the book on the table. "I'll try to find Rapunzel, that Scottish princess, and what, the 'young Viking who conquered a dragon'? Won't that, like, make the Scott and the Viking fight? Really?"

"Just, go Jack."

"Fine, fine, I'm going," Jack walked out of the room. "But I hope I'm there before Jamie starts getting lonely!"

He proceeded to break through the recently-closed glass window, and fly away.

** A/N s'up my romies. I'm doing good today, how about you? Anyways, so sorry I haven't been updating a TON, but I kind of have a social life, and plus between college level math in eighth grade, and high school stuff in everything else, not to mention lacrosse and my job—it's hard. Like, CRAZY hard. But I'll try my hardest to get writing! See you later my sweet little foxes!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N hello again! This is just a quick announcement for three things: 1) I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS! I don't want to be arrested for copying something, so I'm just going to put that down now 2) No, I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME get the stupid accents right. So, from now on, I'll just write like they have American accents, and Merida *might* just have a British accent. Please, no tomatoes thrown on me or this story. 3) The pairings will be as following: RapunzelxFlynn HiccupxAstrid and MeridaxJack. I do not care if "you really wanted this ship to be in the story", but just no. This is my first fanfic, and I want to keep it canon, except for MeridaxJack. Now, I present to you, chapter 5!**

"Ahhh!" a voice echoed through the village. Next thing the villagers saw was a boy running from a red dragon, his hair scorched and pants smoldering.

"That's not how you do it!" another voice yelled after the boy, coming from the dragon training area. "You just… Oh, c'mon!"

They saw another boy run after the first, this one with brown hair and a thin frame. A pitch-black dragon, with a man-made tail, trailed him. Or rather, half of a tail.

The second boy's name was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of Stoic the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligans tribe. Hiccup was going to be the next chief, heir to the name.

Hiccup, however, did not look like a Viking. All of the other Vikings had large, muscular figures (even the women), large heads, and strong hands. Hiccup was, well, Hiccup.

"I got it!" a girl's voice called. Immediately, a light blue dragon, with spikes all over its body, flew down and put itself between the first boy and the red dragon.

The blue dragon was a Deadly Nadder, one of the most beautiful dragons of them all. She was ridden by a rider that matched its beauty, her name being Astrid. However, both were tough and didn't need anyone to save them.

"Thanks, Astrid," Hiccup said as he tried to calm the red dragon (which was a Terrible Nightmare). "I was afraid the poor kid was going to get scorched."

"Yeah, well, a little too late for that," Astrid jumped off her dragon, running to where the boy was frantically trying to put out the fire on his clothes. "Hey, kid

! There's some buckets over there, you know!"

The boy saw where she was talking about and ran over. He leaped into the nearest bucket, sighing in relief as the flames died down.

"That kid reminds me of Snotlout," Astrid sighed, helping Hiccup control the fiery dragon. Hiccup's dragon, Toothless, was hanging nearby, trying to keep close if something went horribly wrong.

"He does, doesn't he? And he wants to ride the same dragon."

"Hey, that kid is nothing like me!" Snotlout interjected, glaring at them from his nearby lookout spot, petting Hookfang, his Terrible Nightmare. "I'm big, and strong, and cool! That kid is, well, not me!"

"Oh, yeah, he smells a lot better!" Hiccup laughed, finally calming the dragon down.

"Hey, what's that?" Fishlegs pointed at the sea, where a tiny dot of… something was appearing. "It doesn't look like a rock."

"Let's go check it out!" Hiccup responded, not the least bit worried, hopping on Toothless. As he hovered above the village, he called, "Gobber, mind returning that dragon back to its cage?"

"Not at all! It's not like I was doing something!" Gobber, the town blacksmith-slash-dragon doctor, rolled his eyes.

"Thanks!" Hiccup shouted. "Let's go, guys!"

As soon as all of the riders (Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut) were on their dragons, they took off, Hiccup being a little slower so he could ride with his friends.

Hiccup was the best dragon rider, trainer, and "conqueror" to some people, out there. He could tame any dragon, calm down any of the scaly reptiles. He was also the first one, like, _ever_. He was also the first Viking that couldn't—no, wouldn't—kill a dragon.

As they got closer, the shapes got sharper. They were shaped like boats, but different kinds of boats. Almost like…

"Pirate ships!" Astrid yelled. As soon as she said that, two huge flaming rocks were fired at them.

"This is bad!" Fishlegs started freaking out. "Me and Meatlug don't do well under pressure!"

"C'mon, we've fought Outcasts before," Tuffnut started.

"What's the difference?" Ruffnut finished, snickering. "We got this."

"After me! Feel free to back me up- WHOA!" Snotlout dived at a ship, only to be driven back by swords being thrown at him. Of course, Hookfang lit up, covering his body in flames. "AAAHH! Hookfang, stop! Hookfang!"

"Well, there goes Snotlout and Hookfang," Astrid sighed, avoiding the huge rocks being hurled at her, as she watched the two spiral into a nearby rock.

"We'll get them later. We need to stop them now," Hiccup stated, focusing on the ships. "They're fast, but we're faster."

"So what's the game plan?" Fishlegs asked Hiccup, as Meatlug chowed down the boulders being thrown at her.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut, get their attention. Try and make them focus on you. Fishlegs, if they stop focusing on them, cover them. Astrid and I will try to take down their ships. Got it?" Hiccup ordered.

"Okay!" the twins answered, bringing their dragon into a dive. "Hey, look at us! I heard pirates smelled so bad, that even the rotten fish couldn't stand them!"

Needless to say, the twins had no problem getting their attention.

"C'mon, Astrid, this is our chance!" Hiccup signaled, and dove down, straight towards one of the boats. Astrid and Stormfly were on his heels, getting ready to fire a shot.

However, things went horribly wrong when an arrow shot up, and somehow, by some chance, tore through Toothless's tail. A screech left from the dragon, the Viking on his back also screaming.

"Oof!" Hiccup groaned as he landed hard on the deck of the ship. Toothless skidded over the deck and fell into the sea. "Toothless!"

"Rawrrr!" a pirate leapt from out of nowhere, aiming for Hiccup's left leg.

Metal clanged against metal as the pirate hit Hiccup's fake leg. Astrid, who had leapt off her dragon to save Hiccup (her dragon trying to get Toothless), met the pirate in battle, axe against sword. "Hiccup, go get Toothless!"

He got up, and turned to run, only to run into the captain of the "fine" vessel. The captain grinned at him, showing many missing or blackened teeth. "Do you know where we could find the dragon conqueror?"

Astrid cried out as the pirate she was fighting slashed her in the arm. She fell, hard, as the twins fell on the deck. Fishlegs wasn't soon after.

"Hey, guys, I'm okay!" Snotlout grinned at them, only to realize that they were in trouble. "Uh oh."

Three seconds later, he was thrown into the circle of pirates, with the rest of them. Hiccup backed up, trying to protect his friends while coming up with a plan.

"You lot look like you might know 'im, since you're riding dragons!" the captain laughed. "Now, tell me who 'e is, and where to find him."

"And why would you want to know?" Astrid spat, standing up, some spunk left in her.

"Do you know just 'ow much people would pay for a dragon conqueror? I'm interested in the gold, young lass. Now, where in the bloody 'ell is 'e?"

"Why should we tell you?" Tuffnut, in his annoying way of his, asked the pirate.

"Yeah, why? Unless, of course, we get a cut of it," Ruffnut joked.

The captain growled at them. "Because if you don't, I'll kill all of you! That seems about fair. Your lives in exchange for his."

"Let them go, and I'll tell you who this dragon conqueror is," Hiccup said as loudly as he could, trying to sound brave. "I'll tell you who he is, but you have to promise to take only him and leave."

"Wha-?!" Fishlegs started, only to have his mouth clamped over by Astrid's hand.

"Hmmm…. You would stay behind to let your friends escape? At least the little runt isn't a coward!" he laughed, the rest of the crew laughing with him. "Fine, deal."

"Let them go, now," Hiccup crossed his arms, glaring at the captain. The others were given a ship (their dragons having somehow disappeared) and time to row away, just out of sight.

"Now, tell me. Or I might have to chase your little friends down."

"The dragon conqueror is- LOOK AT THAT!" Hiccup pointed, fear on his face. All the pirates turned to see-

A Hideous Zippleback, ridden by the twins.

"Look out, Hiccup!" Astrid called, on her own dragon. "We found Toothless, and he's swimming back to Berk!"

Hiccup didn't pause. He ran to the edge of the ships, arrows piercing his arms, swords slashing his legs, and jumped.

Not five seconds later, he was caught by Astrid's dragon, and flying away. The pirate ship blew up as the twins' attack worked.

_It's too dangerous, _Hiccup thought, _they were going to attack Berk! Sure, we can stand against almost any threat, but with what cost? Astrid was hurt. Who next?_

Hiccup had a plan forming in his mind.

And that night, after everyone was settled in for the night, he stole some food, packed his stuff, and ran away. He would do anything to protect his tribe.

Even if meant leaving.

**A/N Aaaaaaaand that is the end of the intro! Whatcha guys think? Well, not the complete end, we still have to have them meet but… Yeah. This was a long one, because he has such a long background. Anyways, I think this will be a pretty long story, because I have so many ideas for this story that I haven't written yet! Thanks for reading, my red foxes!**


	6. The Icy Storm meets the Beautiful Day

**AT SEA **

"Hold in there, Toothless!" Hiccup called, trying to find balance in the raging storm they found themselves in. "We'll land soon, I promise!"

Toothless let out a groan, and once again pushed through the icy weather.

"Why are the gods so mad at me?" Hiccup muttered, a mixture of slush and water spraying in his face. "First the ships, now this…"

They had run into some ships on their way out of Viking territory, pirate ships, that managed to hit their food supplies, leaving them with only one bag of food.

_Maybe you should've stayed on Berk, _a little voice in the back of Hiccup's head whispered.

_No, I did this to protect my people, _Hiccup shook his head, ignoring that little voice. _They know enough to be able to pass it on, and they don't have people going after them._

A screech from Toothless shook Hiccup out of his thoughts. He peered through the mist and rain, seeing a huge black blob that looked like land. "Over there, Toothless!"

Toothless, already going there, rolled his eyes.

**_Meanwhile,_**

****"What's that?" Jack squinted, looking at the black shape that had passed underneath him. He was in a huge, freezing storm that he, for once, did not create, but instead nature did it for him.

He sped after the shape, not knowing what it was, curiosity taking the better of him. Jack tried to catch up, but as soon as he saw it, it disappeared. He growled in frustration, thinking that maybe that was what he was looking for. What else could fly as high as him but a dragon?

Instead, he looked for land. He saw a dark blob of land, he hoped, off in the distance, and decided to rest. He would wait for the storm to blow itself out, then take off again.

If only he knew what would happen before it did.

**IN CORONA,**

"How much longer, mum?" Merida groaned, sitting back against the carriage (given to them by the royalty of Corona, who heard that they had none to travel to the palace).

"A lady does not complain about time," Elinor responded, sitting straight up, back into her old habits of scolding Merida. "We'll be there when we're there."

"Thanks, mum, for nothing!" Merida sighed, and closed her eyes.

_Maybe just a little nap before we arrive, _she thought, then dozed off…

"Presenting King Fergus, and his family Queen Elinor, Princess Merida, and the three princes, Harris, Hubert, and Hamish, of the kingdom Dunbroch!" a courier announces, leading the family towards the castle. The people of Corona cheered as the family walked by, for some reason.

A little walk later (not that long), the family stood at the doors of the castle of Corona, where the royalty was waiting.

_That girl is weird, _was Merida's first thought of Princess Rapunzel, seeing her bare feet and a lizard sitting on her shoulder. She took in her simple purple dress, and short brown hair that complimented her light green eyes.

"Welcome, old friend!" the king greeted Merida's dad with a bear hug.

"It's so nice to see you again," the queen smiled at Queen Elinor. "And these are your little boys?"

"Oh, yes, this is Hubert, Harris, and Hamish. Oh, and Merida! Come over here please!" Elinor pointed at the three little boys.

"Why, Merida, you've grown so big! And I see your hair is as uncontrollable as ever!"

"Hello, your Majesty," she curtsied.

"Hello, Princess Merida," the blond princess held out her hand to shake Merida's.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Rapunzel."

"I hear you're a great archer. Mind showing me a few tricks sometime?"

Merida was shocked. A princess like her wouldn't really be interested in learning how to shoot, would she? But, then again, this girl _was _raised by an evil witch who locked her in a tower for eighteen years.

"No problem," Merida responded, glad to find someone that wanted to learn how to shoot. "I think that would be fun."

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" a man with the same brown hair as Rapunzel walked up and put his arm around Rapunzel. "I _am _kind of your fiancé, blondie."

"Of course I was going to introduce you! King Fergus, Queen Elinor, Princess Merida, this is my husband-to-be, Eugene Fitzherbert."

"Nice to meet you," Merida held out her hand, which Eugene shook firmly. He then shook Elinor's hand, but getting a huge hug from Merida's father.

"Fergus!" Elinor sighed.

"Welcome to the family, boy. Me and the king are practically family, having fought for each other's kingdom and saved each other's lives before."

Merida rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long trip.

**_Meanwhile,_**

****"Rapunzel, would you show Princess Merida to her room?" Rapunzel's mother asked, smiling.

"Sure, Mother," Rapunzel slipped out of Eugene's arm, smiling at Merida. "This way."

As soon as they were away from the two families, Rapunzel asked a question that was killing her with curiosity, "Is it true that you turned your mother into a bear?"

"That was the witch! Not me! But, yes, my mother was turned into a bear."

"Wait, witch?!"

"Yup. Tried to convince me she was just an old woodcarver. But what woodcarver can use magic?"

"Apparently that one."

"And, is it true that you were raised in a tower?"

"Yeah. Luckily, Eugene, who I called Flynn Rider at the time, found me and brought me to the castle. Well, we kind of accidently found each other, and he didn't know who I was until I told him."

"Wow. You'll have to tell me the story sometime."

"And you'll have to tell me yours. Hey, want to see the tower?"

"Wait, you know where it is?"

"Of course, I lived there for eighteen years. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, are you sure you want to?"

"Of course. It's not that far away."

"Okay. Do you even have a horse? Mine is in the stables, I think."

"He's more like a bloodhound, but yeah, I have a horse."

"Cool. Maybe we can go tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure. Oh, by the way, you'll be sleeping here," Rapunzel opened the door to an extravagant guest room.

"Wow, this is pretty cool. At home, our rooms look so much different. It's kind of strange."

"Yeah… Um, listen I have to go, but maybe we can talk later?"

"Uh, sure."

Rapunzel gave a small wave, then left, leaving Merida not knowing what to do.

"What to do now…," Merida sighed, throwing herself onto the huge bed.

**A/N okay, I know, kind of a boring chapter, but this part is essential. It's kind of one of the MOST IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY'RE ACTUALLY MEETING EACH OTHER. The reason Rapunzel's and Merida POV are so much longer is because, well, they actually met each other. Jack and Hiccup will meet next time I promise. Farewell, my foxes!**


	7. When Ice Meets Fire

**A/N hello there! My mouth is under extreme pain from the super tightening of my braces, so I'm writing to distract myself (not working to well). Anyways, her is chapter 7: When Ice meets Fire**

"Just a little longer buddy," Hiccup patted the side of his dragon's head, seeing the land in the distance get slowly closer.

What he wouldn't do for a little fire right now. However, even Toothless's fire died out a little bit when they tried it last. They wanted to save his shots for when they got into real trouble.

Meanwhile, Jack was trying to fly to the land in the distance. He was trying hard to see that thing he had seen earlier, but to no prevail. All he needed to do now was wait out the storm and-

"AAAAHHH!" Hiccup screamed as a white-haired boy appeared out of literally nowhere. "TOOTHLESS!"

Toothless, have realizing the boy a little too late, plowed into him head-on, completely knocking them both out of the sky.

Jack, having seen the dragon, was excited. He had found person number one, of (hopefully) three, and just needed to get the boy to see him. But he had a feeling the boy could already see him… mostly because he was freaking out about catching the boy he hit.

However, before Hiccup could save the strange boy, they both hit a huge forest. It turns out they were already above land.

Toothless had his wings around Hiccup, taking in the most of the trees and impact. Luckily, they weren't as high up as they thought, and hit relatively soft, compared to what could've happened.

"That boy!" both Hiccup and Jack said at the same time, getting up from different parts of the forest. "I hope I didn't kill him!"

But they would soon learn it was harder to kill each other than they initially thought.

"Toothless, we checked everywhere in this storm! Where could he be?" Hiccup sighed in exasperation. "I hope he's not dead."

Toothless covered his master with his wings, trying to protect him from the cold and rain. Hiccup smiled at Toothless, his eyes showing through his wet hair. "Thank buddy-"

He was cut off by the white-haired boy from earlier tackling him, pinning him to the ground.

"Who are you?" they both said at the same time, then realizing who he was on, Jack hopped off.

"Sorry," Jack backed up as the dragon crouched down and growled at him. "Couldn't see who you were, through all this rain."

"Who are you?" Hiccup got up, trying to wipe mud from his back off. "How did you knock Toothless out of the sky? HOW WERE YOU UP THERE?!"

"Look, I would absolutely love to tell you my life story right now, Jack rolled his eyes, "but we're being chased by Pitch's fearlings. WE need to find somewhere, well, not here."

Jack grabbed Hiccup's arm, before Hiccup yanked his arm back, stumbling back towards Toothless.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, until you tell me what your name is," Hiccup frowned.

"My name's Jack. Jack Frost. I'm the winter spirit."

"How were you flying?"

"You said you wouldn't go anywhere with me unless I told you what my name is. Now come on, unless you want to be captured or killed. You need to come with me."

"But—"

A huge crash echoed through the forest , alerting the two and the dragon that they weren't exactly alone. Red eyes glowed from the darkness, right at the two.

"Maybe you're right. Run now, talk later," Hiccup gulped as he saw the creature smiled with extremely sharp teeth. "Toothless!"

Toothless, the faithful dragon, growled at the creature with the red eyes as he hopped on. "C'mon, Jack!"

"Um, actually, I have my own way…," Jack backed up from the dragon, obviously a little nervous.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, and managed to pull the feather-weight winter spirit onto the dragon. Jack gulped as Hiccup yelled through the wind, "Ready?"

"No!" Jack said nervously, as he saw the dragon blow a huge ball of fire at the creature "Me and fire don't do well together—AAAAHHH!"

Hiccup looked back at the frightened boy, feeling how much colder he felt now that he was near him.

"It's coming!" Jack shouted, looking at the ground. Hiccup looked down to, at the red-eyed creature… with large, glowing green wings.

This escape might be a little harder than Hiccup had originally thought.

**A/N this is a little shorter than usual, only because the timing has to be right! I'm pretty sure next chapter they'll all meet, but you never know.**


	8. Danger in the Storm

Jack was scared out of his wits.

Not because of flying—he had no problem with flying. But it was the dragon, the one that could breathe fire, he had a problem with.

Mostly because he was the spirit of winter, and this guy had a dragon with a ton of inner fire. Fire and ice, well… they don't go together too well.

"Hold on!" Hiccup warned, getting ready for a sudden dive. He hoped to lose the creature in the storm, which was calmer but still freezing.

Jack felt the dragon move, felt it focus on the ground—which evidently was going to crash. But instead of holding on, he laughed. He wouldn't get hurt from falling.

"Odin's beard!" Hiccup cursed, looking behind him. The thing was still following them—whatever it was. "We have to lose this monster!"

"I'm on it!" Jack responded, twirling his staff so it faced the monster. Jack aimed for it's head and shot.

Somehow, the monster was able to dodge the attempt, leaving Jack's attack a mile away. "Dang it!" Jack yelled, frustrated. "We need to land and hide!"

"Where?!" Hiccup yelled back, over the wind that was picking up, trying to see through the rain and snow and fog. "I can't see anything!"

"Just go towards the ground!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. That idiot. Toothless had to find a semi-open area to—

BAM! The creature slammed into Toothless, sending the poor dragon spinning away. During the collision, Hiccup's belt loop came undone, leaving him falling into midair.

As Hiccup fell, he looked for Toothless. He couldn't find the strange boy, but he knew in his heart he wouldn't be able to save him. He wished he somehow could, when another heavy object collided with Hiccup.

"Hold on!" Jack shouted, carrying Hiccup through the air. "This is going to be a rough landing!"

Jack spotted the dragon, twisting through the air and struggling. He manipulated the winds to take him over there, determined to save the dragon too.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried, seeing the dragon plummeting towards his death. "Hold on buddy! Stay still!"

Jack aimed for the saddle to throw Hiccup on, and tossed the boy onto Toothless. Hiccup grabbed the saddle, snapped his legs into place, and managed to pull up before hitting the trees. However, he still crashed through the forest below him, finally coming to a stop in a clearing.

The beast that had chased them roared with fury as it lost it's targets.

"Quick! In here! There's a tower!" Jack motioned to Hiccup, who groaned and followed the spirit. Toothless brought up the rear, keeping an eye out for the monster.

They entered a tunnel, hidden by vines. As they walked through, they heard the beast's roars get fainter and fainter. When they walked all the way through, there was a tower, obviously abandoned, in the middle of the glade. "Hurry!" Jack called.

As soon as they were close to the tower, Jack grabbed Hiccup's arm and flew up into the window of the tower. Toothless, however, was forced to wait outside (hiding, of course) because he didn't fit in the window.

Jack and Hiccup collapsed on the ground, exhausted and, in Hiccup's case, cold to the bone. Both were sopping wet, covered in snow and ice, drenched in water.

"Time for bed," Hiccup managed before closing his eyes and passing out.

The next time the poor boy woke up was to have a frying pan in his face and a girl's voice saying, "Who the 'ell are you?"

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while! Really, really busy right now. Anyways, what did you think? Tell me what you liked about it in the comments, or even what you didn't like. Thank you so much for reading, my little foxes (By the way, what do the foxes say about my story?)**


	9. The Fuse is Lit

**WHILE THE BOYS WERE FIGHTING THE BAD STORM**

"What is with this storm?" Rapunzel asked, staring, puzzled, out the window. "We weren't supposed to have a storm like this for months!"

"Does your weather consult with you about what it wants to do?" Merida rolled her eyes, irritated by her entrapment in the castle.

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "No, but we can figure out what weather is coming next, at least most of the time. As soon as the weather clears up, we'll go to the tower, okay?"

"Okay…" Merida sighed. "I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow," she opened the door, smiling.

Rapunzel tiredly smiled back, thinking about her hair again. "See you tomorrow, Merida," she said.

Rapunzel turned back to the window as soon as she heard the door close, sighing. She too was sick of being trapped in this castle though she really shouldn't be, considering she was trapped in a tower for eighteen years.

_No, don't think about that, _Rapunzel shook her head, suddenly feeling fatigue overwhelm her. She barely managed to make it to her bed before falling into a deep sleep.

**PRESENT**

"Ready to go?" Merida asked cheerfully as Rapunzel mounted her horse, Maximus. The weather had cleared up overnight, much to Merida's joy.

"Yeah," Rapunzel answered, taking the horse's reins. "C'mon, follow me!"

They rode through the streets of Corona, almost running over vendors and townspeople. "Sorry!" Rapunzel apologized as they plowed over a man. "So sorry!"

Everyone quickly jumped out of their way, making getting out of the town very easy. Rapunzel led the way into the bright forest, hearing Merida's horse, Angus, match her pace.

Only thanks to Maximus was she able to find her tower again. She had only been back there once since leaving her tower on an adventure, and she honestly wasn't trying to memorize the way back into it.

"So, this is it?" Merida raised an eyebrow, seeing the vines that hid the tunnel to her glade. "But its just… vines!"

"Not if you look closer," Rapunzel smiled knowingly, getting off of Maximus and pulling back the leaves. "Come on through!"

Merida laughed and jumped off Angus, chasing Rapunzel through the tunnel.

"Whoa," Merida gasped, seeing the tall tower. "That's where you grew up?"

"Yes," Rapunzel replied, remembering the good memories, and the bad ones too. She suddenly regretted taking Merida here. Eugene had almost died here.

"Want to take a climb?" Merida ran towards the tower, pulling two arrows out of her quiver. "I'll go up there and throw you down a rope!"

"No, it's okay. There's a different entrance."

"Really?" Merida questioned, following Rapunzel around the tower to a hole in the tower. She smiled as her and Rapunzel climbed the stairs.

Imagine their surprise when they found out that they weren't alone in the tower.

HICCUP'S POV

Hiccup scrambled away from the frying pan, accidently running into Jack, who tried to jump up, but tripped back over Hiccup. The boys were in a jumbled mess as the redheaded girl in the room suppressed a smile.

"Who are you?" the brunette asked, her green eyes showing suspicion. "What are you doing in this tower?"

"Umm, ah… Err…" Hiccup stuttered, slightly scared by the ginger girl's bow, aimed straight at him. "My name is Hiccup…"

"Hiccup? That sounds like a Viking's name," the redhead said in a strong Scottish accent. "You're a Viking aren't you! Are you going to attack this kingdom? Are you going to try to kill us?"

"What?! No! I ran away!" Hiccup said in surprise. "Besides, I would never kill anyone!"

"You ran away?" the brown-haired girl lowered her frying pan. "Why?"

"What about the other one?" the redhead pointed at Jack. "Who are you?"

"You guys can see me?" Jack's icy blue eyes widened in surprise. "But that means… Wait… What are your names?"

"I believe we asked you first!" the blonde said. "Now tell us or—"

"Or I'll shoot!"

"Fine. My name's Jack. Jack Frost. I'm the spirit of Winter."

"Surely you don't mean the Jack Frost from the legends?"

"That's me. Now, who are you?"

"My name is Rapunzel. Princess Rapunzel of Corona, the kingdom you are currently in."

"And my name is Merida."

Jack inhaled sharply. "Wait… This is perfect!"

Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel all stared at him, confused as he leapt up, this time landing softly on the ground. "What do you mean?"

"You're the ones I've been looking for! Here, I'll show you!" he grinned, pulling out a small bag from his pocket. "See?"

"That's one of my arrows!" Merida yelled, snatching the arrow from Jack's hand. "How did you get this?"

"A lock of my hair?" Rapunzel looked at Jack, bewildered.

"How did you find this?" Hiccup gasped, grabbing one of the copies of the Book of Dragons. It obviously had not been updated, as there were some dragons missing and no information on how to train them.

"You guys are the ones, then!" Jack exclaimed. "Look, I need you to come with me—"

A roar of Toothless, who suddenly appeared in the window, and seeing Merida armed, got ready to fire, cut him off. He thought Hiccup was under attack.

"Toothless, no!" Hiccup leaped at the dragon as Merida screamed and loaded her bow. She aimed at the dragon, only to be tackled by Rapunzel.

Rapunzel had obviously seen Hiccup calming the dragon down, but putting himself in harm's way of Merida's arrow. If Merida had shot, it would cut through his neck.

There didn't need to be any more death in this tower.

As soon as Hiccup calmed the dragon down, he joined the group again. It was silent as each of them sized up the others, feeling the tension in the room.

All of them together were like a time bomb, slowly ticking the time away until it exploded.

However, no one knew how much time they had left until it erupted.

**THEY FINALLY ALL MET YAY.**

**FINALLY I CAN GET INTO, YOU KNOW, THE ACTUAL PLOT. YAAAAY.**

**Anyways, thanks so much to marsetta for being an COMPLETELY AMAZING AWESOME AND PERFECT human being and such a devoted fan to the story! I'm pretty excited to see how you guys react to the next chapter, and this one too, so please review and tell me how I can get better! The whole reason (well, one reason) I made this account was to improve my writing, so please help me! Thanks guys!**


	10. The Leader, Witch, Bear, and Chief

"So, where exactly are we again?" Hiccup asked as they ate from the picnic basket Rapunzel and Merida brought to the tower (luckily they had the foresight to pack a lot more than needed—Hiccup and Jack were starving, not to mention Toothless).

"The kingdom of Corona," Rapunzel answered. She had not eaten anything, due to the fact that she hated the place she was in.

"Wait, Corona?" Jack paused, about to take a huge bite of his sandwich. "But that's like… Never mind."

The other three gave him strange looks as he looked down. Jack came from a much more, well, modern time. Corona existed hundreds of years ago. How could he go into the past?

"Why are you here?" Hiccup asked Merida. "You don't sound like you're from here, even though the only Coronian I met is Rapunzel."

"I come from Scotland. My father and hers are very good friends," Merida shot a look at Hiccup, still not trusting him. After all, he was a Viking.

"That makes sense. You have the hair, and the accent, and the… uh…" Hiccup trailed off, his face reddening. "Not that everyone from Scotland has red hair. I mean, I'm sure most people do but…"

Merida's brow creased as she did a double take of the former Viking—or so he said. He was small and scrawny, not Viking-like at all, compared with the few Vikings she had seen. He only carried a small dagger, and definitely didn't think like a Viking. Merida always assumed Vikings killed everything but themselves.

Rapunzel suddenly got up. "I'm sorry. I can't be in here anymore," she apologized, heading for the trap door. Her memories, all bad, had overwhelmed her. She couldn't stand sitting next to the spot where Eugene had almost died, where her hair was cut off, where she had been imprisoned for years.

"What's wrong?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "What, you don't like this place?"

"No. I don't like this place."

"Well, we should probably go too," Hiccup got up and stretched. "Nice meeting you, Rapunzel and Merida. Maybe I'll see you again."

"Yeah, nice meeting you too, Hiccup."

"No!" Jack jumped up. "I mean, no. You guys have to stay with us. We're meant to defeat Pitch together."

"Who's Pitch?" Rapunzel stopped.

"He.. well, he's the Boogey Man."

"But he doesn't exist!"

"Yes, he does. And he's kind of my enemy. And I think he's recruited some of your enemies too."

"That's impossible. My kingdom doesn't have any enemies," Rapunzel shook her head.

"Same with mine," Merida said.

"I have a lot of enemies," Hiccup shrugged. "You're going to have to be more specific."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, think about it. Have you had enemies before?"

Rapunzel and Merida both nodded yes. Merida was thinking of Mor'du, while Rapunzel thought of "Mother" Gothel.

"Have you defeated them?"

"Of course!"

"Yeah."

"Did you check? I thought Pitch was gone forever, but now look where I am," Jack gestured to the tower. "How can you be sure?"

Merida glared at him. "Why would I have to check? A BOULDER fell on that bear! There's no possible way he could've survived."

"Uhm, a bear?" Hiccup looked at Merida, bewildered. She only had to deal with a bear? He fought the Red Death, for crying out loud.

"A human that turned into a bear from a witch's spell, given the strength of ten men. My mother defeated him."

Hiccup nodded. His mother was a hero too, to his father. He didn't really remember her much. However, Merida was thinking differently.

"Well, apparently he survived, because who else would want to kill you?" Jack reasoned impatiently.

"Maybe Vikings," Merida said. "They've killed plenty of us before."

"And you've killed plenty of Vikings!" Hiccup retorted.

The two started arguing heatedly. Jack and Rapunzel had no idea what to do, because even though they tried many times, they could not get them to stop arguing.

Rapunzel climbed down the stairs after a while, bored of the two yelling. Jack tried to separate the two again, but gave up when they shoved him out of the way.

However, a scream and a huge earthquake knocked them on the floor and brought them to their senses.

"Rapunzel!" Merida paled, fleeing down the stairs. Jack leaped out the window, followed by Hiccup. Toothless caught Hiccup as soon as Hiccup dropped.

Rapunzel was completely still, faced by a dark figure.

"Crap," Jack said, flying over to Rapunzel. Merida showed up out of the tower, seeing Rapunzel. She immediately loaded her bow, aiming at the figure. Toothless bounded across the clearing, settling next to Merida.

"So, you've got them all together for us, Jack," Pitch smirked. "Thank you for sparing me the work."

"Who is this, Jack?" Rapunzel asked, holding her frying pan out in front of her. Her lizard was sitting on her shoulder, also ready to fight.

"You know the guy I was talking about earlier? Yeah, that's him."

"Hello, daughter," Gothel said, appearing next to Pitch. "Miss me?"

"How did you survive the fall?" Rapunzel glanced over at Gothel's cloak, just outside of the tower.

"I'm a witch, dear. It's harder to kill me than you thought."

Rapunzel scowled, thinking of how Gothel stabbed Eugene.

Merida looked at the old woman. "This was your mother? Her? But she's so… old."

Gothel pointed her finger at the red-haired princess. "I could kill you right now, if I wanted to."

"No, no, Gothel. Remember who we're saving that privilege for," Pitch snapped his fingers, and a man stepped out of the shadows.

"Who is that?" Merida raised an eyebrow.

"You mean you don't recognize me?" the man bared his teeth at her. "You, after all, were the one who I tried to kill. Of course, I was in a more… animalistic form then."

Merida's eyes widened as she put two and two together. "But how did you-?"

"That witch you met?" Gothel cackled. "The one who changed him into a bear? Well, I'm a witch to. It's not that hard to change him back, if you know the spell for it."

Hiccup sighed. "So, which of my enemies have you brought? Dagur? Alvin? I bet its Alvin."

"That's correct, boy," a hoarse voice sounded. Alvin the Treacherous stepped out behind a rock.

"So, let me guess. You all want to kill them and Alvin keeps me and brings me back to train his dragons," Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"That's the idea, yes," Pitch answered him, grinning. "Except Jack. He also won't die. And, of course, without Rapunzel's hair, you surely will lose."

"You'll find it's harder to capture me than kill me," Hiccup said.

"And, sorry, but our mothers are expecting us back by dinner," Merida said, gesturing to her and Rapunzel. "So, you won't kill us today."

"We'll see about that," Mor'du growled, hefting a huge hammer. Alvin lifted his axe as Pitch and Gothel just stood there.

"Ready?" Jack asked the others.

No one answered.

**No! No, I do not think of Merida as a bitch! My editor person thought I was trying to do that with her (I actually did kinda paint her character as a mean girl), but I promise, it's just because their people are enemies! Plus, Hiccup was a little mean to her too. But anyways, the enemies of the story have showed up after, what, 9 chapters? Next chapter is their big fight! Well, one of them (hint, hint). Farewell, readers!**


	11. Just a Trick

Pitch laughed softly. "You honestly think we'd fight you here?"

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel questioned, her eyebrow raised slightly. "Why would you come then?"

"To warn you," Gothel smiled. "And give you a chance to back down. You see, Rapunzel, I don't want to hurt a hair on your head. But, if you make me, well… I can't guarantee anything."

Rapunzel's eyes narrowed. "Like I'd ever join you, witch."

"Is that how you speak to your mother?"

"I've met her mother!" Merida said, arrow still aimed at Mor'du's heart. "And trust me, she ain't no ugly hag like you!"

Gothel sneered, making her already wrinkled face even wrinklier.

"Gothel, it's time for us to go," Pitch tilted his head, hearing the pounding of a horse's hooves. "I believe the kingdom sensed enemies here."

"That might be the fact that an army is attacking the country," Alvin smirked. "Trying to get the royal families… and soon-to-be royal."

Rapunzel's eyes widened as she processed his words.

Someone was attacking Corona.

Merida let go of her arrow, as Pitch grabbed the witch, man-bear, and Viking chief. Jack tried to freeze them, but both his and Toothless's attacks were too late.

Maximus, Rapunzel's horse, and Angus, Merida's horse, ran from the vines. Maximus was immediately on guard, alarmed by the strangers.

"We've got to get back to the castle!" Hiccup hopped on Toothless. "Jump on!"

"We've got our horses!" Merida scowled.

"They're too slow. Just, c'mon, trust me! We don't have time for this!"

Rapunzel, too worried about her people to care, leaped on. She thought of the worst possibilities ever—but no. Corona's army was strong, and plus they had the Scots there too. Surely they could stop the invaders. Could they?

It took one glance at her friend's face to know that Merida was going to have to go out of her comfort zone. The Viking was right—they had to be at the castle as soon as time would allow.

"Fine," she grumbled, brushing away Hiccup's extended hand.

The action reminded Hiccup of Astrid, and his heart ached right away.

_Not now, _he shook his head, _we've got to go._

"You coming?" he asked Jack, who simply smiled at him.

"Not on that thing," Jack responded. He vaulted off the ground and started, well, flying.

"What-?!"

"JUST FREAKING GO!" Rapunzel yelled at him, sick of his stalling.

In surprise, Toothless bounded off the ground, following Jack into the sky.

Merida wrapped her arms around Hiccup tightly, more out of fear than actually wanting to be close to Hiccup. Rapunzel just focused on the ground, wanting to see the said army attacking Corona.

Well, more dreading it than wanting to see it.

**HEY!**

** HEY YOU! YES, YOU! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.**

** Don't ever forget that.**

** But anyways, sorry for the short chapter, yes no battle between the four and the bad guys, but I figured this would be better to help further the plot. Anyways, I have to end this like now because I have to go somewhere so bye my little foxes!**


	12. United We Stand

"It's Pitch's fearlings!" Jack calls out, seeing the black sand running beneath them.

"They're doing something to the citizens!" Merida pointed out over the wind. She had noticed the creatures pass through the people, causing those hit to fall down in fear.

"Is that Alvin's flag?" Hiccup asked, knowing that the others would not get it. "The Outcasts are here too!"

"Take me down!" Merida ordered Hiccup. Toothless lowered enough for Merida to shoot down the enemy, causing a lot of people to look at them, particularly enemies.

"We need to get to the castle and make sure our families are all right!" Rapunzel reminded them, her face showing her immense worry. She had lost her real mother and father for most of her life; she could not lose them again.

"Go, Toothless!" Hiccup said, patting the dragon's neck. They shot through the sky, heading towards the castle. Jack followed close behind.

They arrived in less than a minute, all of them landing on the ground. Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel leaped off the dragon, sprinting for the doors. However, before they could open them, they opened from the inside.

"Looking for someone?" Mor' Du grinned, more of him baring his teeth at them. He had Merida's family, all of them tied up (even her father, who he had in one of his hands). Gothel showed up next to him, holding the unconscious Flynn Rider.

"No!" Merida and Rapunzel cried out at the same time.

Merida loaded an arrow, aiming it at Mor' Du's heart. "Let them go!"

Still grinning, the bear-man moved her mother in front of the arrow. "Go ahead. Shoot, and kill your precious mother," he taunted.

Merida wavered, her eyes betraying her fears. Jack raised his staff, determined to get their families back. He saw three red-headed little boys in the man's hands. They would not die, least of all her mother and father.

Rapunzel's hand was over her mouth, terrified of Eugene's fate. He had already once almost died; she could not bear to see him in suffering again.

"Let them go, I'm warning you!" Hiccup said, raising his shield. Toothless prepared to fire a shot at the witch.

Gothel cackled. "A shield? What are we supposed to fear from a shield?" she smiled, digging her knife at Eugene's neck a little bit more.

"This!" he yelled, releasing the wire that tied the target up. Merida shifted her arrow, aiming at Mor' Du's hands. Jack shot off a blast of frost on the ground, causing Gothel to slip as her arms were held against her body. Rapunzel threw her frying pan at Mor' Du's head, hitting her target. Merida's arrow found it's mark, causing by reflex, Mor' Du to drop her family.

The man ripped the arrow out of his hands, and took out his sword. He ran forward and slashed Merida with it, across her torso. Jack yelled, and a wave of ice forced the man back, preventing him from further damage.

"Come to me, you fool!" Gothel shrieked. Mor' Du ran to to the witch, grabbing her arm. They both disappeared, as Rapunzel ran to her friend.

Merida was bleeding heavily. Hiccup was next to her too, kneeling at her side. Though he had only met her that day, she reminded him so much of Astrid, it was like watching her die.

Jack was at her feet, worried about the girl. Her family would be waking up soon, and he didn't want them to wake and find their daughter dead. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I used to be able to heal things like this but…" Rapunzel said.

"Why can't you?"

"My hair had the powers, but now that it's cut, it doesn't do anything. But there was special song to go with it," Rapunzel sniffled.

"Can you sing it?"

"It… It won't work. I've tried before."

"Please, Rapunzel. She's your friend, and she'll die from this. Think of her mother and father, her little brothers. You can at least try, right?"

"Sure, but I'm telling you, it won't work," she closed her eyes, sitting next to the wound. Merida's breath was getting shallow, quicker and quicker each time she took a breath. Her dress was soaked with blood. There had to be no way she would survive this, unless Rapunzel's magic came back.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your powers shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine," she sang, her voice as beautiful as a summer's day. As she sang, her short hair started… glowing. It was growing longer too, which caused both Hiccup and Jack move back, uncomfortable with the sudden hair growth. What the hell was happening?!

"Heal what has been hurt, change the fates design, save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine," she finished, looking down at her red haired friend.

Merida's wounds were healing, the skin growing back together, the blood flow slowing, and then stopping altogether. Her face was getting some color back, her breath slowing a bit, as Rapunzel gasped.

"My—my hair! It's back!" she cried. She touched her head, as if to make sure it was real. "Thank you, Jack!"

"No problem," he grinned, "we should probably get this girl in different clothes, and write a letter to her family, explaining where you two went."

"What do you mean? Me and Merida aren't going anywhere!"

"Then those things will come back," Hiccup reasoned, stepping out of the quiet he had sunk into when Merida was hurt. "And they'll hurt more people, and Gothel and Mor' Du will come back and hurt you."

Rapunzel bit her lip. What Hiccup had said was true. Her hair was more precious to Gothel more than anything in the world—she would stop at nothing to get it.

"Okay," she finally said, a tear escaping from her deep green eye. "We'll go. But you're right we should change her… I mean, I should," she changed, knowing how uncomfortable it would be if the boys had to change her clothes. "She has a good dress for it. I'll take her up to her room. You two… Try not to hurt anything, and write the note, please."

"Gotcha, princess," Jack winked. "I know how to speak Coronian. And write it too, hopefully."

She rolled her eyes, picking up the redhead. "Whatever."

As soon as she left, Jack said, "You got a pencil and paper, or something, Hiccup?"

"Yeah," Hiccup said quickly, pulling out his journal. After tearing a piece of paper out, he handed Jack his charcoal. "Here you go."

Jack wrote,

_Dear royal families of Corona and Dunbroch,_

_Both your daughters are safe, don't worry. They left with me (Jack Frost) and another boy to stop the people who attacked this place. I know we can do it, and I apologize for the attack on the city. The man who attacked (or rather, people) is named Pitch Black, along with his allies Mor' Du, Gothel, and Alvin, Viking leader of the Outcasts. _

_We'll have your daughters back, safe and sound, in time. I promise._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Jack Frost, winter spirit_

"We're back!" Rapunzel greeted, coming back outside, supporting Merida. Merida had awoken, feeling better. She felt much better already; after all, Rapunzel had healed Eugene's stab wound fully, after just minutes of the stab.

"So, we're all here," Jack smiled. "The healer—" he grinned at Rapunzel –"the archer-" he nodded his head to Merida, who smirked—"And the inventor—" he rested his arm on Hiccup's shoulder, using the shorter boy as an armrest.

"What about you?" Merida raised an eyebrow. She was in the dress both her mom and her had chosen, a quiver of arrows around her waist.

"The leader!" Rapunzel volunteered. "You did, after all, get us all together. An you helped me, you know, get my hair back."

Jack smiled. "Helping kids is what I do."

"I'm older than you!"

"Nah, Punzie, I'm 318 years old. You're what, 19?"

Rapunzel blushed, scowling at him. "It's not my fault you're immortal."

"So, should we get going, or what?" Merida interrupted, kind of sick of their unintentional flirting.

"Yeah. The Big Four all in one place," Hiccup smiled. "And Toothless, of course."

"And Pascal!"

"What, your lizard? He's coming?"

"Chameleon! And yes."

"Fine," Jack sighed. He put his hand in their little group. Rapunzel put her hand over his, Hiccup's following soon after.

They al looked at Merida, who was looking back at her family. "They've almost lost me once. I don't know if I should go…"

"Please, Merida. They'll be fine. Your father is the strongest man I know, and your mother is equally as strong. Nothing will hurt them," Rapunzel comforted her friend. "But if we stay, something will happen to them. Those things will come back. We need to go."

"Okay," Merida sighed. She put her hand on Hiccup's, as Pascal crawled down Rapunzel's arm to put his foot in. Toothless tried to put a paw in, and somewhat succeeded.

"So, this is the team that's going to defeat our enemies and save the world?" Hiccup questioned, his sarcastic side taking over.

"Yup," Jack grinned," And they have no idea what's coming for them."

**Yay!**

**That is the end of book one.**

**I'm planning on there being about three books, maybe, but guys, this one, Connected and United, is OVER FOR NOW!**

**I've changed the pairings just to RapunzelxFlynn, HiccupxMerida, and sorry Jack! You're alone. I don't think he'd be interested in having a relationship like that with someone, being immortal and all, not to mention being a Guardian of children.**

**Also, I think Rapunzel would be strong from carrying Gothel up the tower everyday. **

**Yeah, that's it for now! Now to work on the other one _n_ hehehehehe**

**Bye!**


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